Royal City #6

BRAND-NEW STORYLINE! "SONIC YOUTH," Part One The second arc of JEFF LEMIRE's bestselling, critically acclaimed new series takes a major shift as the story jumps back to the year 1993, and we follow the last week in the life of Tommy Pike! Meet the Pike siblings when they were all just teenagers in the '90s, and the tragedy that will come to haunt their family is still in the future.

Each issue in this arc will feature a special variant cover paying homage to some of the best indie rock albums of the 1990s, featuring stellar artwork by JEFFREY BROWN (Jedi Academy), EMI LENOX (PLUTONA), NATE POWELL (March), RAY FAWKES (UNDERWINTER), and DUSTIN NGUYEN (DESCENDER).more

I am often reminded of Jack Kerouac's “Visions of Gerard,” about his own brother who died in childhood. There is an inescapable sense of loss in Royal City. Of an imagined ‘better world' that would have been had Tommy not died. A wish that the pain the family still feels could have been transformed into a wonderful life. If only… Read Full Review

Royal City #6 sets up potentially the most interesting and emotionally charged arc Royal City has to offer. As we lead up to Tommy's eventual death the focus shifts to tell us that this arc is in fact Tommy's story, not his siblings or his parents. This is finally Tommy's time to be the main character and in the spotlight, Tommy truly shines. Read Full Review

This early in the arc, it is hard to tell who is worth caring about, but Tommy is certainly central and the heartbreak is sure to come. This is a genuine tragedy, but we've yet to be shown heroics. Read Full Review

This is a really strong issue of "Royal City." It was a great idea for Lemire to give us the story opening in the present day before cutting back to high school...the scenes are more heavily weighted, the sense of tragedy is in the atmosphere. The depictions of Tommy's struggle to sleep and his crippling headaches are powerful. This series has a new sense of direction with this issue and is a great read.